Leap of Faith
by DecendentofGallifrey
Summary: Broken and forgotten the Assassins are nothing but a story in the far future. The pieces of Eden are scattered, and there's not an Assassin to be found. Through an act of fate two potential Assassins are sent back in time to ancient Italy to give the future a chance. Assassins Creed AU. We do not own Assassins Creed. Authors: The DEVIL may care but I don't/me Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Jodie and Stef seemed like normal teenage girls at first. They wore jeans and t-shirts, gossiped about boys, and surfed the internet…quite a lot. But upon further inspection things got…weird. Jodie had a knack for finding exactly what she was looking for in a short amount of time, and Stef had the balance and climbing abilities of a cat.

Jodie sat in a park, her eyes flitting over the crowd, and her fingers lightly touching the sun shaped amulet that hung around her neck. Jodie focused, and like flipping an internal switch, the entire scene changed. The people and scenery around her lost its coloring, only certain places kept and enhanced their color. They glowed…

Jodie smiled when she saw a familiar glowing figure emerge from the crowd. Jodie blinked slowly and everything suddenly jumped back into full color. Jodie grinned at her sister as she sat beside her. Stef grinned back at her. Jodie was a pale blonde, with almost metallic gold eyes, while Stef was a brunette with grey-blue-green eyes.

"Sup, sis?" Stef grinned, hopping up onto a box with almost catlike ease. "Using the glowey vision again to find me?"

"Mmhmm." Jodie flipped back into her "glowey vision" and watched the people again. She smirked when she noticed an undercover cop. All people who could be of interest to her were colorful, and each one had an almost aura that floated around their body. When she wasn't searching for Stef she glowed a baby blue, as did her own body, cops and people who intended to hurt her had a red aura. A pile of leaves off to their right also glowed…it was more of a silver blue. Jodie had learned that the silver blue color meant she could hide very easily there. The sky however did look different…even if it was a perfect day, if Jodie looked at the sky with her "glowey vision" it seemed to race with grey clouds. Sometimes she wondered if she was seeing the wind itself. "How many curbs did you balance on, on the way here?"

"It wasn't curbs so much as—"

"You ran along the rooftops to get here, didn't you?" Jodie interrupted.

"It's fun. Don't judge me." Stef grinned. Balancing along ledges and climbing up otherwise impossible things had always come easy for her. She could run along rooftops to get to places much faster since she didn't have to worry about traffic or pedestrians.

"Screw you and your-" Jodie was cut off mid sentence as her pendant began to glow and burn fiercely. Stef, who had a matching yet opposite pendant glanced down at her moon shaped one. They were both glowing fiercely. Jodie could see the threads of power pouring out of them and wrapping around the two. Her "glowey vision" was suddenly cut off by a wall of black.

Similarly, Stef's pendant burned and she was basically knocked off of the box she was perching on by an unseen force before the world went dark. Somehow she was able to turn herself so that she landed on her feet when the world suddenly became colorful again. Jodie was somehow caught by a man in lots of white, red, and black wearing a hood with a sword strapped to his belt. Stef smirked at her sister from her crouched position.

Jodie quickly flipped into her glowing vision, but was frozen when she saw that the man holding her was glowing a vibrant gold. "You're….you're glowing." She blinked. No one else but her sister had ever glowed without her specifically looking for them. The man, whose face was slightly warped by the glow, raised one eyebrow.

"What was that?" The man asked sounding slightly amused. He had a thick Italian accent. Jodie shook her head and automatically mumbled that it was nothing. She then flipped out of the vision, and found that she was looking into a very, _very_ handsome face. He smiled at her, which then highlighted the scar that ran across his lips on the right side. She quickly looked away blushing, and found herself frowning. The strange statues in the room were glowing.

"Stef," Jodie breathed. "Is my vision stuck…or are they glowing for real?"

Stef stared strangely at the statues around her. "No, no, they're actually glowing. I most definitely am not using my glowey vision."

"They started doing that just before the two of you appeared." The man explained. "We'd just come down the stairs. Lucky for you," he added, looking down at Jodie with a smirk, "otherwise that would have been a painful landing."

Stef rolled her eyes at his obvious flirting. "Then . . . . Why are they still . . .?"

The statues began to increase in radiance and suddenly another figure fell out of nowhere. This one landed directly next to Stef with hardly a sound.

"Altair." The man holding Jodie breathed. Jodie once again seemed to notice that she was being held.

"Not that I don't appreciate your saving me from a bruise or two…I don't know you this well….could you put me down?" She asked soflty.

"I had forgotten." The man chuckled, setting her down gently.

"Can we get some introductions, please?" Stef asked finally, tired of not having names to put to faces.

"Well…" Jodie said glancing at the room. "I'm Jodie…nice to meet you." The man who had been holding her before took her outstretched hand and lightly brought it to his lips.

"It is nice to meet you, Jodie. I am Ezio." Ezio said with a smile at her, he then turned that smile on Stef and Altiar. Jodie kept her face turned downwards to hide the blush that had sprung to her cheeks.

"I'm Stef. We're sisters." She said making a motion at Jodie. The exchange between her sister and the Italian hadn't gone unnoticed; Stef grinned internally at the innocence and delight that had radiated from her sister in that instant.

"I am Altiar." The new one said taking Stef's hand gently. He pressed a kiss to her hand as well. Stef smiled at Altair with a genuine sort of happiness, and Jodie smiled to herself about that.

"I'm Mario!" An older man grinned at the three new comers. "You can call me Uncle Mario. It's nice to have three new Assassins with us. Although…I'm not sure how you got here."

"I'd like to know that myself." Stef said with a frown. Jodie was silently watching the others, she had moved away from them without real notice. "What do you mean…Assassins?"

Mario laughed. "You two are obviously like us! Jodie, you said that people glow in a certain vision that you use, and, Stef, you actually managed to land _exactly_ like Altair did and he's an Assassin without question."

"How do you know who I am?" Altair asked curiously. "I do not know any of you, and your clothing is . . . strange."

The elder man scuffed his toe on the ground nervously under his ancestor's gaze. "Your time was . . . long ago, Altair."

"Wait." Stef held a hand up and glanced at Altair then at Mario. "What year _is _it?"

"It is 1480." Ezio said proudly.

"What?" All heads turned towards Jodie who had somehow managed to get a good five feet from the rest of the group. "1480? We're from 2014…" Jodie shook her head. "This is too much…" And just like that she was running. Jodie ran fast…it was something that she prided herself on. She quickly made it out of the house and into the streets of the ancient town. She flipped her vision and tried her hardest to avoid the people while looking for a silver spot….any silver spot. Jodie saw one and jumped into it, feeling hay settle over her and concealing her from sight. She curled up in the very scratchy hay and tried to get things straight. This is what she did when she was overwhelmed…she ran and hid…and then she straightens it out.

Stef sighed. "She has this tendency to embrace her skill set and run and hide when things get too stressful . . . . Which they just did with us being thrown several centuries into the past and thousands of miles away from home . . . . It's kind of a lot to freak out about . . . A hell of a lot, actually . . ."

The next thing the other assassins knew, Stef had darted up the stairs and out of sight as fast as any of them could.

"Ezio, go find them. It's not safe for them to be alone in this time yet." Mario ordered quickly, hoping his nephew could catch them before they got too far. "Bring them back to my office once you find them."

"I will retrieve Stef." Altair volunteered.

Ezio nodded and both Assassins dashed out of the room to find the time traveling girls.


	2. Chapter 2

**DecendentofGallifrey: Hi there! Here's a chapter for your entertainment! Please review.**

**The DEVIL may care but I don't: 'Sup guys this is where a disappeared to. Hope you enjoy the new project and please review.**

Altair managed to locate his target relatively quickly with the use of his Eagle Vision to follow the faint golden trail she left behind. Somehow, the girl glowed gold while everyone else in the room had glowed blue. The Syrian was impressed by her climbing skills when he found her perched at the highest point in the city—the Villa's roof.

She made no motion to acknowledge him as he approached.

"Are you all right?" he asked, sitting beside her one the ledge.

"Not exactly, no," she chuckled humorlessly, "but then you can't be doing much better."

He pushed his hood back to reveal a small smile. The elder had skin tanned dark from long days training under a hot desert sun, short brown hair, and eyes as gold as an eagle's. Stef gave an involuntary smile in return to his.

He gazed at her thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. "It is strange, yes, but I am also aware of the Pieces of Eden's strange abilities enough to be relatively unsurprised by these events. You and your sister, however, have no such knowledge. You did not even know that you were born to be Assassins until you came here, let alone expect strange happenings from objects."

"Understatement." Stef sighed. "How did you find me, anyway?"

"I followed your trail through the 'glowey vision' as you and your sister called it. Do you not have it?" he asked curiously.

His fellow time traveler shrugged. "I can, but I get awful headaches when I do," she explained. Narrowing her eyes to brace herself, Stef activated her glowey vision for a few seconds. "You glow gold . . ." she breathed before cutting herself off with a small groan as a stabbing sensation presented itself in her head.

Altair nodded thoughtfully, but did not elaborate on the look of sudden understanding that crossed his face for an instant. He held his hands on either side of her head just far enough away that he wasn't touching her. "May I?"

She looked a bit skeptical, but Stef nodded her consent anyway. Moments later, the Syrian was gently massaging her throbbing temples, eliciting a tiny whimper as some of the pain eased. She closed her eyes at the sensation.

"So, does Jodie share your ability to climb? This would be a rather difficult one without any training." He commented, smiling slightly at the pleased expression on her face.

"Hmm?" she muttered. "Oh! She can, but it doesn't come as naturally nor does she have near-perfect balance. She _is_, however, much better at finding hiding places than I am."

"Interesting." He pulled his hands away after a few more moments, watching Stef's eyes flutter open as he did so. "Is that better?"

"Definitely." She grinned, meeting his golden gaze. "We should probably go back down there so they don't worry about us—well, me since I'm the one who bolted."

Altair rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It is absolutely understandable." He said seriously. "You've been thrown back in several centuries in time; it makes sense that you would be anxious."

"Thanks." Stef smiled as she stood, offering her hand to help Altair do the same. "Can I ask what that expression was about when I said that you were gold?"

He'd been brushing himself off when she'd asked that and paused for an instant before replying. "I think that would be best explained while both you and your sister are present to prevent having to explain twice."

That statement earned a wary glance from Stef, but she did not argue. "Let's go." She decided, heading back towards the other side of the roof, where she could climb down more easily.

"Why are you going that way?" he asked curiously, cocking his head to the side slightly. "The courtyard is just down here, and the room where Mario said to meet is there."

"There's no way to get down that way." Stef stared at him like he was insane.

Altair smirked. "Do you trust me?" he asked, standing on the edge of a curious wooden outcropping on the ledge.

Naturally, she hesitated. _He _did_ help, and made me feel better, _and_ I have this weird feeling telling me to just say yes . . . _she thought. "Yes." She replied at last, deciding to listen to her gut.

With a chuckle, Altair took her hand and pulled her up onto the platform with him. "Relax and let me lead," he whispered into her ear before pulling his hood up.

The Syrian moved his charge in front of him so that she was facing the city in front/below them and her back was pressed against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her—to which she automatically latched onto his arms in return—Altair jumped off of the platform. Stef squeaked as they flew through the air, but otherwise didn't move so that she didn't throw off whatever crazy plan he was carrying out.

It was more difficult to do the Leap of Faith without the use of his arms and with his passenger, but the Assassin's years of practice allowed him to perform it nearly flawlessly despite these conditions. The pair landed gracefully in a conveniently placed haystack in the courtyard below with Stef lying on Altair.

"Holy shit." She breathed, in shock that they were, well, _alive_. "I've never done anything like that before. That was awesome! You're _definitely_ going to have to teach me how to do that."

Altair gave a genuine bark of laughter as they stood. "I thought you might enjoy that. Yes, I will teach you soon."

"Ah! Altair!" Mario beamed as he made his presence known. He was currently standing in a doorway to the side of the courtyard that presumably lead to his office. "You found her."

"Yes," was his simple answer. His voice had a colder edge to it than just moments before, causing Stef to glance at him curiously.

"Now we just wait for my nephew and your sister to return." The older Italian grinned despite Altair's somewhat icy demeanor towards him.

Ezio quickly followed the trail the strange girl left behind, but found that after a while it faded from view. He had started to ask the people around him if they had seen an oddly dressed girl, but none of them had. Ezio had almost given up when he noticed a pile of hay off to the side of a street. He slowly walked to the edge of it and paused. Deciding to risk sounding completely insane he quietly spoke. "You can come out now." The hay softly moved out of the way to reveal part of a female face.

"I'd rather not." Jodie said peeking out at the tall handsome man. He paused, and then seemed to stand a bit straighter.

"Either you come out…or I come in." Ezio said with a smirk.

"You wouldn't." Jodie said pulling herself further into the hay. There was a slight pause, and then suddenly a body was beside hers. They hay fell over them both. Jodie began to dig towards the other body, and felt her hand hit another hand. Both paused in their digging for a moment, and then they worked together to make a tiny space where they could see each other.

"I would," the Italian smirked since he'd proven his point. "Are you all right?" he asked more seriously, the worry evident in his gaze.

The blonde laughed softly to herself. "I'm trying to be." She then smiled at him. Ezio found himself watching the way her eyes lit up when she really smiled. Jodie paused and glanced around them, she then sighed and she was suddenly gone. Ezio quickly pushed himself out of the hay to find her watching and waiting. Bits and pieces of hay were stuck in her hair and clothes, and without thinking he reached out and plucked a bit from her hair. She reached towards him slowly, as if she were approaching a wild animal, and tugged a bit of hay out of his own black hair. Ezio held his arm out to the girl and she took it after a moment.

"So people still do this in your time?" Ezio asked her, wanting to hear her voice once more.

"Not everyone….but sometimes yes. It's old fashioned…" She said glancing up at him. "Usually reserved for someone you care about." Ezio nodded at this as he lightly guided her back through the city. When they got back into the house and with the others Ezio stood slightly behind her…plucking bits of straw out of her hair as he saw them.


	3. Chapter 3

Fortunately, the trio did not have to wait long. Stef was pulling bits of hay out of her hair while leaning against the wall next to Altair when the pair entered the room. Mario greeted them with a big hug almost instantly.

"Welcome back, you two." Stef grinned weakly, repressing the urge to run again.

Jodie gave Stef a look that Stef knew better than most. She wasn't stable either. She wanted more than anything to run away, but Ezio was standing there blocking her.

Stef turned her head to look at Altair once more; for some reason, the hood obscuring his face bothered her more than it should. "So, what were you going to explain?" she prompted curiously.

"Ah." He paused and met her gaze. She could just barely make out his golden eyes from the shadow of the hood. "I know it will hurt, but can you look at Ezio with your Eagle Vision and tell me what you see? I will help rid you of the headache once everything is explained; it won't take too long."

"I'm assuming that's what you call the glowey vision." Stef sighed before narrowing her eyes at the younger Italian in the room. Almost instantly, she turned the vision back off. The climber cradled her head in her hands before describing what she saw. "He glows blue like Jodie and Mario, just a bit darker."

"Now, Jodie," Altair said catching the other gold eyed person's attention, "you look at him." Jodie instantly let the room shiver into its glowing form.

"He's gold." Jodie said softly. Altair made a gesture at himself. "You're dark blue…just like Mario." She said letting her vision go back to normal. "What does that mean?"

"There is a story that the Assassins have passed down for a very long time. It is ancient and older than time itself. It tells that our souls have holes, and that only another soul….who is perfect for the other…can fill those holes." Altair looked like he was having a hard time explaining.

"Like a puzzle piece." Jodie said. "Stef…he's talking about that old story we heard."

"Story?" Stef asked confused.

"Once upon a time humans were born with two heads, four arms and four legs." She began in a sing song voice. "Zeus found himself afraid of the power that they possessed, and he split them apart. These creatures lost track of their other half…and over time they learned to hide what they held inside from the others."

"Yeah I remember." Stef said nodding. "Is that what you mean?" She asked Altair.

He nodded. "Yes, it is, but the story that the Assassins pass down has an extra piece of information. The legends say that a person's Soul Match glows gold in the Eagle Vision while all other allies are blue." The Syrian seemed somewhat reluctant to admit that last part, even going so far to cast a nervous glance at Stef. "And I knew a few in my time that experienced this. They agreed that the stories were true."

Jodie glanced between Stef and Altair with obvious interest. "So you two are…soulmates?" Jodie was grinning at Stef.

"That . . . would actually explain why I feel weirdly comfortable with you." She admitted, sharing his nervous glance. "I don't usually jump off of roofs with men that I just met."

"I should hope not." He smirked a bit at her as her stance slowly relaxed.

"But—Doesn't that mean-?" Stef's head snapped over to her sister. "You and Ezio?"

Jodie shook her head. "He's gold because he can help us. He hasn't seen me as gold."

"Actually," Ezio's accented voice interjected, "I tracked you through the golden trail you were leaving behind. You _do_ gold for me."

Jodie froze, and then glanced at Ezio. "I'm gold?" She asked talking a few steps towards him. Her head tilted to the side almost instantly.

"To me…yes." Ezio said, letting himself shift into Eagle Vision just to make sure. Jodie was a glowing golden form in the midst of a darker room. She stepped closer and he shifted his vision once more, but he could still see gold. Her eyes were wide, as she seemed to take him in.

"And, Altair, you are positive that I am gold for you?" Stef asked, still a bit skeptic, despite the fact that her body was leaning toward the man subconsciously.

"Unquestioningly. It is how I tracked you to the roof." He assured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her the rest of the way to his side. The Syrian hesitated once he'd done so. "We do not have to act on it if you wish." He hedged slightly with an unsure expression.

Stef allowed a small smile. "We're acting on it, Altair. I've never been so comfortable with someone so quickly before. Ask Jodie. It has to mean _something_, so why not believe in soulmates?"

The aforementioned female was trying to slide away from the group yet again. Ezio simply walked to where she was standing and intertwined his fingers with her. He had decided to do this to keep her from running, but he was surprised at how nice it felt to have her hand in his. Jodie was glancing at their hands as well, not sure that she liked that she liked him holding her hand.

"Can I be weird and request that you lose the hood?" Stef asked with a glance up at the man that was apparently her soulmate.

A smile was blatantly evident as the Syrian pushed the white hood off of his head to show off the short brown hair and the rest of his face once more. "Better?" he asked, feigning seriousness.

"Yep." Stef chirped happily. "I don't know why that was bothering me so much."

"Perhaps it would be best if you all had a conversation with your Soul Match privately in the morning." Mario suggested. "For now, we all need some sleep. Ezio will lead you to the guest rooms." He said by way of farewell before leaving the room.

"Sleep actually seems like a really good idea." Stef agreed, glancing up at Altair.

Ezio led the three each to separate rooms. Stef quickly fell asleep as did Altair. Jodie sat for some time staring out the window of her room at the lights that dotted the town. She found after a while that she could not sleep. A crazy idea swept into her head. She unlatched the window and pushed it open, narrowing her eyes in concentration she gripped the frame and pulled herself up into the window frame. Stef could free run much better than Jodie, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to try. She flipped herself around and began to climb. After many near falls and scrapes she finally got to the highest point of the villa. She plopped down and watched the stars for the longest time letting the slight breeze run through her hair. She sat on the roof for the longest time, and when she finally made it back into her room and fell asleep…the sun was already beginning to rise.

Stef woke slowly, blinking wearily at the sunlight streaming through the window. Confusion washed over her for a moment as there was a peculiar pulling sensation in her chest. Within moments, she remembered everything that'd happened the previous day . . . right down to the part where she found out that a certain Syrian Assassin was her soul mate. _The same man who is presently leaning in the doorway_.

She jumped when her brain actually _registered_ that last thought. The girl tossed Altair a sheepish smile when she glanced at him again. The man smiled in return and stepped into the room to sit on the end of her bed, having taken the smile as permission to enter.

"How long were you standing there?" Stef asked sheepishly, idly picking at the blanket that was still draped over her.

"Long enough to learn how amusing you are when you first wake," he replied with a small smirk.

Stef noticed that he'd left his hood down as per the request she'd made the previous evening. Also, the man's belt and various weapon sheaths were all absent—excluding the sword that was hanging from a thinner leather belt than his usual one. Some part of her brain registered that it was _never_ wise to travel without some form of weapon.

"It's not that amusing," she argued at last.

A chuckle. "I would have to argue." Stef found herself loving the spark of happiness in those golden eyes. "How are you this morning?"

He didn't say it aloud, but Altair was slightly worried that she would have changed her mind during the night and not want to act on the natural draw between them. The Syrian did not know how one would manage rejection from part of one's own _soul._

He was saved from his less-than-pleasing thoughts by Stef taking his left hand in both of hers. As if she could read his mind, she said, "I still want to be with you, Altair. I still think it would be stupid to ignore something like this when it falls into our laps." As she was speaking, Stef noted that he was missing his ring finger on the hand she was holding.

Altair let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I completely agree."

Stef hesitated for only an instant before tugging on his hand lightly. "Come on. I'm still kinda tired and don't want to get out of bed yet."

"Do you wish me to leave?" he asked, trying to be polite even though every part of him screamed to stay.

She rolled her eyes. "Lose the sword and boots and get your ass up here."

Smiling a bit, Altair proceeded to do as ordered but went so far as to remove his outer robe, leaving him in a white sleeveless tunic and brown pants. His soul mate lifted the blankets to allow him access, and only moments later the couple was lying comfortably together on the rather large bed. Altair allowed contentment to settle over him as Stef settled with her head on his chest and an arm across his stomach.

"I could get used to this." Stef commented quietly.

"As could I."

"I've never had anyone I could just be _me_ with," she admitted. "Everyone always prefers my sister, and—not that I hold it against her at all—people tend to . . . not like me."

Altair used a finger under her chin to make her look at him. "You do not have to fret about that happening from me," he promised. "The myths say that we are essentially made for each other. You are my other half. How could I be drawn to another more than you?"

Seeing the genuine honesty in her soul mate's eyes caused her to smile. "How are you so perfect even though we just met?" she wondered aloud.

"For exactly the same reason I just stated." The Syrian said with a smirk.

Stef watched, fascinated, as Altair's pupils expanded and his eyes became slightly more metallic. She knew instantly that he'd activated his "Eagle Vision" as he'd called it—she admitted it sounded much better than "glowey vision." It was interesting to watch his eyes just _change_ to accommodate the vision shift. She'd watched Jodie's do it time and time again, but Altair's seemed somehow _different_ in a way that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Admiring you." He replied simply, earning a slight blush. "You glow differently than anyone I've ever seen as gold. It's beautiful to see." As he said that last bit, his eyes shifted back to normal and he met her gaze.

"I've never seen anyone as gold aside from you." Stef admitted. "Jodie said that sometimes the people who genuinely wanted to help us were gold, but I never saw it, only shades of blue."

Before Altair's eyes, Stef's ring of yellow in her iris expanded a bit to signify that she was using her Eagle Vision. Her hand reached out of its own accord and traced the contours of his jaw.

"Beautiful," she breathed before wincing and closing her eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that." Altair chided gently as he caressed her temple with the hand that wasn't around his soul mate's waist.

She sighed and leaned into his touch. "I wanted to see." Stef shrugged. "Did you see the gold thread that was forming between us or am I imagining things?"

"I saw it. It is the bond that is forming between us." He explained. "It is forming more quickly than I anticipated."

Seeing the thoughtful look take up residence on his handsome face prompted her to lean forward and seal their lips together. Altair froze for an instant—one which caused Stef to worry that she'd gone too far—before his brain kicked back in and he returned the kiss.

"Get some more sleep." He whispered once they'd parted.

"You too." Stef grumbled, pecking him on the lips once more before settling back down on his chest.

Altair gave a small smile as he gently rubbed his thumb along her temple. "I will," he promised once her breathing evened out.


End file.
